Conveyer for vending machines



K. w. KARNOPP 2.236.100 CONVEYER FOR VENDING MACHINES March 25, 1941.

sheets-sheet 1 Filed March 51, 1938 x 0 1 w Q, 9 w M M 7 4 I M 1 w a a c 0 fiw My H w March 25, 1941. w, A P 2,236,100

CONVEYER FOR VENDING MACHINES Filed March 51, less 3 Sheets-Sheet s Ab Q atented Mar. 25,1941 252361100 {UNITED STATES PA ENT. OFFICE CONVEYER FOR VENDING MACHINES Karl W. Karnopp, Waukegam. 111., assignor, by mesne assignments, to TheEKalva Vcndcrs, Inc.,

a corporation of Illinois ApplicationMarch 31, 1938, Serial No.i199,098

Claims. (01. 198-181) This invention relates to improvements in ing door unit 4 for the dispenser are mounted coin controlled vending machines, and particuon the front side of the cabinet I, as shown in larly to refrigerated devices for automatically Fig. 1. As .shown, the coin'receiving unitis pro- 1 dispensing bottled beverages which are prefervided witha coin slot 5, a coin return aperture 5 ably kept in an upright position. 6, and a signallight, aperture 1 which is ar- 5 The main objects of this invention are to proranged to indicate that. the dispensing mechavide a refrigerated bottled-goods vending rnanism is empty or inoperative when that is the chine wherein the bottled goods are at all times, case. The lower portion of the coin receiving maintained in an upright position; to provide mechanism comprises the cash box thereof, and

such a device having a simplified and improved a locked cover 8 isprovided for access thereto. 1

conveyer mechanism for storing, carrying and The.delivery doorunit'l comprises a revolving delivering the bottled goods; to provide an imdelivery door Swhich will behereaiter described, proved bottled goods vending machine of comand which operates to deliver or dispense the pact and efficient design, having an increased goods handled by the device onto a walled shelf capacity" over arrangements at present in use; I0. One end of the cabinet I is also provided to provide such a device having a horizontally with a locked door -II which leads to a storage disposed storing and conveyer means and wherecompartment occupying a space below the disin delivery is effected at the same level as the pensing mechanism that is not taken up by the conveyer means; to provide a bottled goods vendrefrigerating unit. I in'g machine for paper capped containers, whese- As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the bottled goods 20 in leakage of thebottled contents through the storing, carrying and dispensing mechanism is can is obviated; to provide such a device that is constructed to lie entirely in ahorizontal plane, proof against tampering or surreptitious manipand is built on a rectangular frame I2 arranged ulations; and to provide a bottled goods vending to be positioned within the upper part of the machine having numerous other novel features cabinet I in themanner of a shelf or horizontal 25 I and advantages, as will appear from the followpa tit on. The fra e mp s p transing disclosure. versely extending members I3 tied together by A specific embodiment of this invention is longitudinally extending channel members I4, shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein: which also serve as tracks or guides for the con- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the vending veyer means. 30

machine or dispenser. v As shown in Figs. '2 and 3, the endmost trans- Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same with the top versely extending members I3 of the frame I2 removed. rest upon angle bars I5 .mounted'on theinside i Fig. 3 is a-verticallysectioned view of the same, of the end walls of the cabinet I, and refrigeras taken on line 3-,-3 of Fig. 2. ation is provided by coolingcoils I6 disposed on .35 Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional the side walls of the cabinet I so as to substanplan view showing details of the delivery door tially surround the upper portion thereof in and drive for the conveyer, as shown in Fig. 2. which the storing, conveying and dispensing Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional detail, in elevamechanism is housed. 40 tion, of the delivery doorand its operating mech- In the form showmthe conveyer comprises an 40 anism as taken on line 5-4 of Fig. 4, and showendless chain II, which is arranged to follow a ing the conveyer driving means. reciproacting or back-:and-forth path in a di- Fig. 6 is a sectional plan view of the delivery rection whichismainly longitudinal of the cabdoor actuating spring, as taken on line 5-6 of inet I, the chain I! being disposed on its side :Fig. 5. and guided longitudinallyin the channel mem- .45

In theform shown in the drawings, my imbers I4 and the return bends at the ends of the proved bottled goods vending machine comprises cabinet being accomplished by means of idler a refrigerated cabinet I, arranged to house resprockets 'Ifl,.the center lines of which are midfrigerating apparatus not shown, in its lower porway between the channels I4. As shown, in Figs.

tion, and a coin controlled bottled goods storage '2 and 4, the chain II isdriven by a sprocket I9 50 and dispensing mechanism in its upper portion. located near 'thecolner of the cabinet, adjacent A cover 2 is provided in the top of the cabinet I the delivery unit 4. But first the chain passes for access to the storage and dispensing mecha over an idler sprocket 20 disposed with its pitch nism, particularly for loading the same, and a circle tangentialwith the center line of the chain as coinreceivingand control unit 3 and a deliveras it passes along the channel I4 which terminates at the delivery door, and then the chain ll passes over the drive sprocket l9 and thence around a second idler sprocket 2| which is arranged to be shiftable arcuately about the axis of the drive sprocket l9 to provide for taking up of slack in the chain ll. As shown, the sprocket 2| is carried by a swinging bracket means 2l.| and the action of the spring 2L2 thereon keeps the chain taut.

From the adjustable idler sprocket 2! the chain passes transverselyof the cabinet to the side thereof opposite the side in which the delivery door is located, where it passes over a small idler sprocket l8.l and thence along the first channel l4 to the opposite end of the cabinet I where the first return bend is effected by the first idler sprocket l8. The chain I! then follows the reciprocatory or back-and-forth path between the oppositely disposed idler sprockets l8 until it reaches the drive sprocket l9, adjacent the delivery door.

As shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, the conveyer chain I1 is disposed entirely within a single horizontal plane and the bottles 22, which the device is intended to handle, rest directly upon the upturned side of the chain I1, the bottles being conveyed or moved along the reciprocating or back-and-forth path of the chain H by frictional engagement of the chain with the bottle bottoms.

In order to guide the bottles 22 and keep them centered on the conveyer chain ll guide walls are provided to define channels along which the bottles 22 travel in following the back-and-forth course of the chain I1. As shown, the guide walls are spaced on each side of the center line of the chain so as to just clear the bottles 22 and each side wall, at one of its ends, curves around a respective return bend sprocket IS on a circle that has its center at the axis of that sprocketl Thus, the first side wall 23 begins adjacent the small idler I 8.! and extends along the side of the cabinet I to the opposite end thereof, where it passes around the first idler sprocket I8 and then travels longitudinally of the cabinet to terminate at the axis of the next idler sprocket l8 in the path of chain travel. The opposite side wall 24 of the first conveyer pass follows a similar course, but in an opposed direction beginning at th axis of the first idler sprocket l8 and passing around the next opposed idler sprocket and terminating at the axis of the third idler sprocket iii in the course of chain travel. The remaining side walls or partitions 25 to 29, inclusive, are oppositely disposed members which merely curve around a respective idler sprocket l8 and then extend longitudinally of the cabinet to terminate at the axis of the next idler sprocket in the line of chain travel, except that the last side wall or partition 29 terminates at the delivery door.

As shown in Fig. 2, a small guide wall or partition 30 is provided at the delivery door to guide the bottles 22 from the delivery end of the conveyer into the revolving door 9, the partition or wall 30 extending in a curved direction from the partition 28 toward the door 9, and breaking adjacent the center line of the last pass of conveyer travel to curve around the door 9 soas to not interrupt its operation,

The chain ll may be of any suitable type such as roller chain or the common block chain known as bicycle chain and the pitch of the sprocket teeth will, of course, be in accordance with the chain used. As shown, however, the teeth of the sprockets I9, 20 and 2| are cut off at their pitch diameter and the said sprockets are positioned so that their pitch circles are substantially tangential with each other. This arrangement results in a considerable saving of space and length of chain travel without detracting from the grip obtained on the chain as it passes between the drive sprocket l9 and the adjacent idlers 20 and 2|.

The revolving delivery door 9 and its operating mechanism are shown in Figs, 5 and 6.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the revolving door 9 is a cylindrical device having a top plate 3| and a bottom plate 32 spaced apart by spacer rods 33 on which is mounted an insulating wall 34, which extends substantially one-half way around the circumference of the top and bottom plates 3| and 32, thus providing a cylindrical compartment in which approximately one-half the side wall is open to provide access to the inside of the compartment. As shown, the top plate 3| is provided with an upwardly projecting axial stub shaft 35, which extends upwardly through a bracket member or plate 36, which in turn is suitably fastened to the inner wall of the cabinet I, a bushing 31 being provided on the stub shaft 35 to provide a journal in which a stub shaft 35 can rotate. The bottom plate 32 is, likewise, provided with a downwardly projecting axially disposed stub shaft 38, which is journalled in an upwardly projecting collar 39, integral on a friction clutch drive plate 40. Also, the cylindrical door 9 is provided with a wooden floor block 4| which is fixed to the bottom plate 32 by means of a screw 42, the fioor block 4| being of such thickness that its upper surface will lie just below the top surface of the conveyer chain H. An upper block J is likewise provided secured by the screw 42,2 to the upper part of l the door structure.

The revolving door 9 is actuated by means of a coiled spring 43, which has its inner end fixed to a pin 44, projecting upwardly from a driven clutch plate 45, and its outer end fixed to a pin 46, projecting downwardly from the bottom plate 32 of the revolving door 9. Thus, with the revolving door 9 held against rotation, the spring 43 may be tensioned by revolving the driven clutch plate 45 in a clockwise direction when viewed from above, which tensioning of the spring 43 will cause the door ll, upon its being released, to likewise revolve in a clockwise direc tion when viewed from above. Flexible sealing strips 34.| are shown at the sides of the revolving door for insulating the edges of the opening whenever the door is closed.

As shown in Fig. 5, power for driving the conveyer chain H, as well as for tensioning the spring 43, is provided by an electric motor 41, which, operating through a reduction gear 48, drives a power shaft 49. The upper end of the power shaft 49 carries a sprocket 50 and the driving clutch plate 40, both of which are fixed to the shaft by means of a pin 5|, the driving clutch plate 40 having a downwardly projecting axially disposed collar 52 into which the upper end of the power shaft 49 extends. Also the collar 52 is journalled in a bushing 53 held in a bracket member 54, which in turn, is suitably secured to the inside of the cabinet I in a manner not shown.

The sprocket 50 is connected to a laterally disposed sprocket 55 by means of a chain 58, and the sprocket 55 is journalled in the bracket 54. Power for driving the chain I1 is taken from the sprocket 55 by means of a shaft 51 which is suitably keyed thereto, and which extends upwardly into fixed engagement with the chain drive sprocket 49, the chain drive sprocket l9 being journalled in a bushing 51.! suitably mounted in a portion of the conveyer supporting frame l2.

Frictional drive between the driving clutch plate 40 and the driven clutch plate 45 is provided by a clutch disc 58, made of cork or any other suitable clutching material, and driving friction between the clutch plates 40 and 45 and the disc 58 is provided by a helical compression spring 59 which surrounds the collar 39 of the driving clutch plate 40, and bears between the driven clutch plate 45 and the bottom plate 32 of the revolving door 9. Thus, as power is supplied by the motor 41 to turn the power shaft 49 in a clockwise direction, when viewed from the top, the clutch plates 40 and 45 will be caused to revolve likewise in a clockwise direction to tension the spring 45, therevolving door 9 to which one end of the spring 43 is attached being held in a fixed position by a suitable latch mechanism.

In order to prevent the spring 43 being wound more than one revolution, a stop Bl], integral with and projecting upwardly from the driven clutch plate 45 is provided, the stop Bl] being arranged to come into engagement with a downwardly projecting stop 6| integral on the bottom plate 32 of the revolving door. Thus, when the driven clutch plate 45 is rotated to a point where the spring 43 is wound, the stop 60 will engage the stop 6| to prevent further rotation of the driven clutch plate 45 and from that point on the driving clutch plate 40 will slip on the clutch disc 58, so that the power shaft 49 may continue to rotate to drive the conveyer as will be further described.

The normal position of the revolving door 9 is such that its open side will face inwardly of the cabinet I toward the delivery end of the conveyer mechanism, so that the bottles 22 carried by the conveyer chain I I may be loaded singly into the revolving door.

Latch mechanism is provided to hold the door in its normal position until dispensing of the bottle loaded into the door is desired. Also mechanism including the arcuate arm 10 mounted on the vertical shaft H is provided to eject the bottle from the revolving door as it turns one-half of a revolution upon being released by the latching mechanism. The latching mechanism is also arranged to control the entire operation of the dispensing device after the initial actuation has occurred through the coin receiving mechanism, and the ejecting means incorporated in the revolving door 9 is arranged to so coact with the latching mechanism as to cause the latter, to assume a neutral position, wherein operation of the conveyer mechanism is stopped, upon the completion of the loading of a fresh bottle 22 into the revolving door 9 against the arm 10 by the conveyer H.

In the operation of the herein described dispensing mechanism, the conveyer compartment is first fully loaded with merchandise through the upper lid 2 of the cabinet, the merchandise packages, if bottled goods, being set in an upright position with their bottoms resting directly upon the conveyer chain H.

The delivery mechanism is actuated by inserting a coin in the coin slot 5,-which passes through a receiving and selecting mechanism, which is not shown, in order to close a suitable electric circuit, Thereafter the conveyer moves until the package or bottle is deflected by the partition 30 to'the delivery platform. At this point the conveyer is stopped, the platform is rotated and the' package deposited upon the balcony Ill. The. platform then returns to its initial position and when such caps are of paper as is usually the case with bottled diary products. Other advantages reside in the horizontal conveyer arrange ment, andparticularly in the simplified construction thereof, wherein a maximum of storage space is provided, and wherein a single chain friction conveying means is used. Other advantages reside in the arrangement whereinthe conveyer and storage mechanism is disposed entirely on one level in the manner of a shelf or partition, thus permitting the construction of the conveyer mechanism as a single unit, which may be readily replaced and which may be incorporated into vending apparatus in a series of layers or tiers, one above the other, thus making possible a simple, compact dispenser arranged to handle several kinds of merchandise.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention is herein shown and described, it will be understood that numerous details of the construction shown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of this invention as defined by the following claims:

1. An endless conveyer for supporting a quantity of articles throughout its length and for carrying saidarticles to an unloading mechanism comprising an endless carrier forming a tortuous path including straight sections and curved sections joining said straight sections, retainers for the carrier at the straight sections comprising channel members having a web for supporting the carrier and legs extending to a level below the upper surface of said carrier spaced apart a distance greater than the width of the carrier and idler wheels in the same horizontal plane as said carrier for conducting the carrier around the curved sections, and guides for the articles comprising partitions between adjacent sections of the carrier spacedapart a distance slightly in excess of the width of an article, said guides being positioned parallel to the channels at the straight sections and being curved at one end of each for guiding articles at either side, one of said guides at the unloading end ofthe carrier having an opening in the outside straight section thereof to permit removal of said articles flom the carrier, and a deflecting vane extending obliquely across a straight section of the carrier from one side of said opening for directing articles from the conveyer outward through the opening. a

2. An endless conveyer forsupporting a quantity of articles throughout its length and for carrying said articles one by one to an unloading mechanism comprising an endless carrier forming a tortuous path including straight sections and curved sections joining said straight sections, retainers for the carrier at the straight sections comprising channel members having a web for supporting the carrier and legs extending to a level below the upper surface of said carrier spaced apart a distance slightly greater than th width of the carrier and idler wheels in the same horizontal plane as said carrier meshing with the carrier for conducting said carrier around the curved sections, guides for the articles comprising partitions between adjacent sections of the carrier spaced apart a distance slightly in excess of the width of an article, said guides being positioned parallel to the channels at the straight stretches and being curved at one end of each for guiding articles around the curves, a sealed container completely housing said conveyer, one of said guides adjacent the unloading end having an opening to permit removal of said articles from the carrier, a deflector extending across the carrier adjacent the opening for deflecting articles from said carrier, and means comprising a sealed removable dOOr in the housing adjacent the opening normally closing said opening.

3. An endless conveyer for supporting a quantity of articles throughout its length and for carrying said articles to an unloading mechanism comprising a frame, an endless belt member formed in a tortuous path having parallel loops lying horizontally, idler wheels at alternate ends of adjacent loops for positioning and guiding said belt member, guides at the sides of said member for guiding said articles throughout the path to the unloading mechanism, a drive wheel stationarily journalled in the frame engaging the belt.

member adjacent the unloading mechanism, a floating idler wheel engaging the inside surface of the belt member at one corner, a pivoted bracket for supporting the floating idler wheel in tangential relation with the drive wheel with the pivot point substantially in line with or outside of the loop of the belt member, and resilient means for urging the bracket and the floating wheel in a direction obliquely outward from the corner to impress said belt member into contact with the drive wheel and to maintain a tension on said member without substantially changing the alignment of said belt member.

4. An endless chain conveyer for a quantity of articles positioned in alignment throughout its length, said conveyer comprising an endless carrier forming a tortuous path including straight sections and curved sections joining said straight sections and including engaging means in contact with the articles for impelling said articles toward an unloading end, retainers for the carrier at the straight sections comprising channel members having a web supporting the carrier and legs extending upwardly along theedges of the carrier, spaced apart a distance greater than the width of the carrier and idler wheels in the same horizontal plane as said carrier for conducting the carrier around the curved sections, and guides for the articles comprising partitions between adjacent sections of the carrier spaced apart a distance slightly in excess of the width of an article, said guides being positioned parallel to the channels at the straight sections and being curved at one end of each for guiding the articles at either side, a sealed container completely housing said conveyer, one of said guides at the unloading end of the carrier having an opening in the outside section thereof to permit removalof said articles from the carrier, a deflector extending across the carrier, and means comprising a movable sealed door in the housing adjacent the opening normally closing said opening.

5. An endless conveyer for supporting a quantity of articles throughout its length and for carrying said articles one by one to an unloading mechanism comprising an endless carrier forming a tortuous path including straight sections and curved sections joiningsaid straight sections, retainers for the carrier at the straight sections comprising channel members having a web for supporting the carrier and legs extending to a level below the upper surface of said carrier spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the width of *the carrier and idler wheels in the same horizontal ,plane as said carrier meshing with the carrier for conducting said carrier around the curved sections, a guideway for the articles comprising partitions between adja centsections of the carrier spaced apart a dis tance slightly in excess of the width of an article, said guideway having the partitions thereof positioned parallel to the channels at the straight stretches and being curved at one end of each for guiding articles around the curves, said guideway having adjacent the unloading end an opening to permit removal of said articles from the conveyer, a portion of one of said partitions being extended over and across the carrier to a point adjacent one side of said opening providing a deflector for articles from. the conveyer to\ the opening, and means comprising a movable sealed door in the housing in alignment with the opening normally closing said opening.

KARL W. KARNOPP. 

